Description
This recipe can be done in two 9 inch springform cake pans and layered. But if you’re like me and don’t own two cake pans, this way of baking and assembling the cake makes for even baking, easy assembling, and foolproof slicing.
This cake can be easily baked the day before the event, saran wrapped and iced, and assembled the following day. It has plenty of moisture from the pineapple and banana. It makes a wonderful birthday cake or dessert for Easter or Mother’s Day.
Ingredients
1 cup olive oil
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
3 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups white sugar
4 medium very ripe bananas
1 – 15oz can pineapple chunks
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ pecans
Icing:
3 cups icing sugar
⅔ cup unsalted room temperature butter
8 oz cream cheese room temperature
2 limes
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13×18 inch rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper, leaving 1-inch overhand on the two long sides. Lightly grease the parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder salt and cinnamon into a mixing bowl, then add the sugar. Peel the bananas and mash them up with a fork in another bowl. Drain and finely chop the pineapple and add to the bananas with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined, then fold into the dry mixture until smooth. Finely chop the pecans and gently fold in. Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until raised, golden and springs back when touched lightly in the center. Let it cool completely in the pan.
Icing:
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar and zest of one lime, and add a little squeeze of lime juice, then beat until just smooth.
Assembly:
To assemble the cake using the parchment paper overhang, carefully life the cake from the baking sheet. With a sharp serrated knife, cut the cake evenly into 3 rectangular pieces- these will be your layers. Then, using scissors, carefully cut through the parchment paper, leaving the paper intact underneath each later to help you stack the layers. Evenly trim the edges of the cake.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate with the parchment face down. Using a knife or an offset spatula spread one third of the icing all the way to the edge. Repeat with the second cake layer with the parchment face up, peel off the paper and then frost. Add the third cake layer and lightly frost the the top of the cake with the remaining icing. Decorate the top with crushed, toasted pecans and flowers.
